JOHN GASPARD:Minnesotan reads from his debut novel, "The Ambitious Card," at a launch party with entertainment by a magician. 7 p.m. Monday; Once Upon a Crime, 604 W. 26th St., Mpls.

MOLLY BETH GRIFFIN: Reads from her middle-grade novel "Silhouette of a Sparrow," winner of the Milkweed Prize for Children's Literature, now in paperback. 7 p.m. Monday; Addendum Books for Young Adults and Children, Selby and Western avenues, St. Paul.

CHRISTINE HUNT: Minnesotan discusses "The Orchid Murder: Untangling a Web of Unsolved Murders and Legal Malpractice." It's about the 1973 murder of Minneapolis florist Bob Nachtsheim and how Norm Wartnick, the victim's former employer, was found responsible for the slaying. Trial attorneys Joe Friedberg and Jerry Snider placed their careers on the line in a six-year struggle to get justice for Wartnick. 7 p.m. Wednesday; SubText bookstore, Selby and Western avenues, St. Paul.